CVE-2026-74654: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_dma: Clear stale RX state on shutdown serial8250_release

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_dma: Clear stale RX state on shutdown serial8250_release_dma() terminates RX

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_dma: Clear stale RX state on shutdown serial8250_release_dma() terminates RX DMA and releases the channel, but leaves rx_running set. If the port is closed while an RX transfer is active, the stale state remains while rxchan is NULL until the channel is requested again on the next open. The DesignWare BUSY workaround added by commit a7b9ce39fbe4 ("serial: 8250_dw: Ensure BUSY is deasserted") calls serial8250_rx_dma_flush() from the LCR write path during startup. This happens before serial8250_request_dma() obtains a new RX channel. On reopen, the stale rx_running state therefore makes the flush path pass a NULL channel to dmaengine_pause(), causing a kernel Oops. Clear rx_running after terminating RX DMA, matching the TX cleanup. Also make the flush helper return if the DMA object or RX channel is not available so startup and teardown paths cannot pass a NULL channel to the DMAengine API.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.18%, higher than 7% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 31, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.